This invention relates to a vehicle door construction and, more particularly, to improvements in the latching and release hardware embodied in a vehicle rear door.
A conventional latch and release hardware for a vehicle rear door is shown in FIG. 1, which is a side elevational view of a rear portion of a rear door structure 10 having a window frame 11 and wheel arch 12. The door structure 10 defines an interior space 13. A door latching mechanism 14 is mounted to a latch mount surface 16 of the door structure 10. The latching mechanism 14 is mounted so as to move between an unlatched relation with a door opening catch or striker assembly (not shown) and a latched relation with the door opening catch. The latching mechanism 14 includes a movable releasing component 18 disposed in a latching position within the door structure 10 when the latching mechanism 14 is in latched relation with the door opening catch and is movable from the latching position in a generally downward direction into a releasing position, to move the latching mechanism into an unlatched relation with the door opening catch.
A manually operable exterior latch releasing assembly is mounted on the door structure 10 and has a handle member (not shown) which is disposed outwardly of an exterior panel of the door structure, within a recessed portion 20 thereof. Fixed to the handle member is a component 22 disposed in the space 13 within the door structure 10 and movable from an inoperative position in a generally downward direction into a releasing position in response to manual movement of the handle member from an inoperative position to a release position. A motion transmitting mechanism, generally indicated at 24, is disposed within the space 13 of the door structure 10 and includes a handle rod 26 coupled between the handle component 22 and a lever 28. Lever 28 has a pivot 32 fixed to the door structure 10 in the position shown in FIG. 1. A latch release rod 30 is coupled between the releasing component 18 and the lever 28. To release the latching mechanism 14 from the door opening catch, the handle member is manually lifted which causes the handle component 22 to move downwardly. The motion-transmitting mechanism 24 transmits the generally downward movement of handle component 22 to a generally downward movement of the releasing component 18 from its latching position to its releasing position, permitting the door structure 10 to open.
A vehicle rear door utilizing the conventional motion-transmitting mechanism 24 is susceptible to malfunction during an accidental offset rear impact. Thus, in an offset rear impact directed in the direction of arrow D, the door structure sheet metal at the latch mounting surface 16 may collapse moving the rear wheel arch 12 forward so as to be disposed in the position indicated by dashed-line 34 of FIG. 1. This movement carries with it the fixed pivot 32 of the lever 28. Consequently, the connections of the rods 26 and 30 with the lever 28 will cause the lever 28 to assume a position shown by the dashed lines in FIG. 1. Since pivot 32 of the lever 28 moves from point A to point B, the latch release rod 30 moves downwardly, thus moving the releasing component 18 generally downwardly, releasing the latching mechanism 14 from engagement with the door opening catch, permitting the door to open.
The construction and arrangement of the conventional motion-transmitting mechanism 24 is undesirable since during an accidental offset rear impact, an occupant may be thrown from the rear passenger compartment of the vehicle through the open door.